The invention herein resides generally in the art of bibs or personal covering devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to bibs for keeping moisture away from a person""s skin and clothing. Specifically, the present invention relates to bibs which provide features to assist in securing the bib to a person""s torso.
It is well known in the art to use bibs for protecting clothing while a person eats or is having their hair washed prior to cutting. Known bibs cover clothing so that any food that is spilled or inadvertently dropped falls on the bib and not on the person""s clothing. This protects the clothing from a short term appearance problem and, more importantly, protects the clothing from permanent staining.
In beauty salons, it is also known to use bibs in a somewhat similar fashion. Prior to having one""s hair cut, a person""s hair may be washed by a stylist. In this case, the person sits in a type of reclining chair and tilts their head back while the stylist washes their hair in a sink. At this time, the stylist may apply coloring or other chemical-type treatments to the hair, depending upon the hair style desired. In any event, once the washing and/or treatment is complete, the person sits up and the hair falls on the bib where it is either absorbed by the bib or repelled. But, moisture retained by the hair and scalp region tends to trickle down the person""s neck and migrate along their skin underneath the bib. This moisture, at the least, causes discomfort to the customer and, at worst, damages the customer""s clothing. The water may also spill on the floor causing a safety hazard.
Bibs are also known to provide neck straps to help secure the bib to the person""s neck and to hold the bib in place over the person""s torso. However, this is still found to be inadequate in absorbing moisture that trickles down from the person""s scalp. It is also believed that known bibs are inadequate in construction in that some only repel water, but none efficiently or effectively absorb water when needed or effectively absorb water from one side while also repelling water from an opposite side.
Based upon the foregoing, it is evident that there is a need in the art for an improved bib construction.
It is thus an aspect of the present invention to provide a bib.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide the bib so that it is positionable either on the person over their shirt, or between the shirt and the person and wherein the bib has a back portion and a neck portion.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide the bib, as set forth above, with a neck portion with an extending neck strap, wherein the neck portion may be folded over or not, and wherein the neck strap is tied around the person""s neck to further secure the bib to the person.
It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide the bib, as set forth above, wherein a collar flap extends from the neck portion and is foldable in either direction with respect thereto, wherein the collar flap assists in securing the bib to the person.
The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention, which shall become apparent as the detailed description proceeds, are achieved by a bib positionable on a person""s torso, comprising a back portion, a neck portion extending from the back portion, a strap extending substantially perpendicularly from the neck portion, and a collar flap extending from the neck portion, the collar flap foldable with respect to the neck portion to facilitate securement of the bib to the person""s torso.
Other aspects of the present invention are attained by a bib positionable between a shirt and person""s torso wearing the shirt, comprising a back portion having a bottom edge, a shoulder taper extending from the back portion, and a neck portion extending from the shoulder taper, the neck portion having a top edge opposite the bottom edge, wherein either the back portion or the neck portion is positionable between the shirt and the person""s torso while the other is folded over the shirt.
Still another aspect of the present invention is attained by a method for positioning a bib on a person wearing a shirt, comprising providing a bib having a back portion with a bottom edge, and the bib having a neck portion extending from the shoulder taper, the neck portion having a top edge opposite the bottom edge, inserting the neck portion between the person and the shirt, and folding the back portion over the shirt.
These and other aspects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.